Ignition device



M. M. (EASIER.

IGNITION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE 25: I917v SJWL Patented. May13,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET II WITNESSES: IN VEN TOR.

A FTC-R N E Y.

M. M. CASTERI IGNITION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25. m1.

- 1,3032%? 1 Patented May13, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES:

MELVIN M. CASTER, 0F LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

IGNITION DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13, 1919. J

Application filed June 25, 1917. Serial No. 176,782.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MELVIN M. (l ASTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inIgnition Devices, of'which' the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electrical ignition devices for internalcombustion engines wherein sparking devices such as spark plugs are usedto ignite the charge. For the urpose of producing current for such sparing devices, direct current batteries were first used in connection witha spark coil, but more recently electrical generators known as magnetoshave been used. Frequently both are used together, the battery forstarting the motor and the magneto after it has started.

vices wherein a battery and magneto are used, but wherein the spark coilis omitted and the current from the battery is passed through acommutator into the primary winding of the armature of the magneto.

The particular'purpose of my invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive conneotion between the battery and the magneto, whereby. instarting. the battery current can be manually switched through themagneto and after the engine has started running. it can be manually cutout so that the battery'will not run out.

With my device I can start the motor by turning it over slowly. If thereis a combustion charge in the right cylinder, it is possible to startthe motor without turning it over. 7

My device can be easily attached and is very simple. can be reached fromthe outside. Tt is compact. uses less wire. and requires less currentthan most other devices. and is therefore less expensive.

I substitute for the short circuiting switch It has few parts. and thesefrequently used, and for the automatic switch which is also sometimesused, a single manually operable switch which serves all purposes.

My commutator can be readily attached to any magneto having either apermanent or temporary magnet and a revolving armature with a primaryand secondary winding and which carries an interrupter, especially ifthe interrupter has a contact block which is at'the outside. My batteryand switch can easily be wired to my commutator.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a magneto with a commonform of interrupter and my commutator attached thereto, together withthe wiring shown diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sec tion fromthe right on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of theinterrupter with the commutator removed. Fig.

4 is an enlarged sectional elevation on the line 4l of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 isa diagram of the wiring. I

M represents a magneto with a revoluble armature indicated by A. in Fig.5, having a secondary winding 10. which connects with the spark plugssuch as S, S. and a primary winding. the terminals of which are 11 and12. One of these terminals, shown as 12. usually connects with acondenser and shaft 20. Condenser C, together with the armature A, iscarried by shaft 20. -The other terminal 11 of the primary windingcommunicates with a ring 30 also carried by shaft 20'. but insulatedtherefrom by insulation 31. Terminal 11 may also connect with condenserC.

The interrupter F is of any well known type. It includes a case 39,which is usually partly revoluble by means of a handle such as 40;whereby the spark may be advanced or retarded. and .two or more fixedcontact plates 41 and 42. It includes also a body 38 revoluble withshaft 20 which carries the interrupter lever 43 which. as it revolves.engages plates 41 and 42 in such a manner that the contact between itsother end 44 is made and broken with a contact screw 45 carried by aninsulated contact block 46. The usual spring 47 for the interrupterlevcn is shown. and this lever 43, while insulated fromQthe contactblock. is electrically connected with ring 30. and thus with oneterminal 11 of the primary armature winding through body 38, frame 13,balls 14, and brush 83.

The contact-block 46 is attached to the rest of the interrupter body 38by' means of the screw 48, which passes through an insulating thimble49. This thimble and an t insulating plate 50 insulate block 46 frombody 38 in a well known manner.

' Instead of the usual arrangement, wherein I the} contact block isdirectly connected with the armature shaft by a screw orbolt which w isinsulated from the interrupter lever, I

ing of the armature, that .I interpose my commutator circuit.

My commutator P includes a housing shown as a cap 60 of insulatingmateria such as hard rubber, which carries brushes 2 0 61 and. 62, andis carried by the interrupter casing 39 with which it is caused to moveby iently' held in position, if necessary, by

means of a post 55 attached to the magneto,

and a spring 56, which can be swung aside allowing them to be separatedand removed.

The revoluble part of my commutator comprises a body 64, which may be ofinsulating material with a neck 65, which rests on the contact block-46, and carries the oppositely disposed insulated curved plates 66 and67, which are separated by insulation 68 and 69 as shown. There is alsoa central depression 70 through which passes a central contact member71, shown as an attaching and contact screw, which is electricallyconnected with plate 66, but is insulated from "plate 67. lhis screw 71is kept out of con- "tact with any otherpart of the commutator thearmature primary winding terminal 12.

4 By means of a pin 73, the other curved plate .67 is electricallyconnected with the contact block 46.

The armature A, interrupter body 38, and

movable commutator parts, all revolve together, and as brush'61 iselectrically connected with one pole of battery H by wire 80, and theother brush 62 by wire 81, switch K and wire 82 with the other pole,

55 it is clear that such battery current will be reversed as thecommutator spins around, brmgmg first one plate 67 and then the other incontact with opposite brushes. The I dlrect battery current is thustransformed to into an alternating current, which, of

course, must be timed so as to work in series with the magneto current.induced in the armature.

In the electrical connections 81 and 82 between brush 62' and thebattery, I have inte'rposed a two-way switch K which can be moved toengage contact 83, thus clo'sing the battery circuit,'or can be moved toa neutral point, as shown in Fig. 1, or can in moved to engage contact84, which is the terminal of a bridge connection made by Wire 85 frombrush 61.

When starting, the circuit from the battery is closed by the switchdirectly to brush 62, and after the motor has startedrunnmg fast enoughto allow the magneto to produce sufiicient current Without theassistance of the battery, the switch is thrown so as to close thebridge connection between wires 81,

85, and contact 84 between the brushes 61' and 62. When this is done,the effect is the same as if the contact screw 71 made the.

connection directly between the contact block and the armature shaft, asis the case in most magnetos to which my invention is adapted to beapplied.

a p1n'100 which passes-into both. This andthe interrupter casing may beconventhe circuit will be kept open by the action of the interrupter armand the contact plates 41 and 42 of the interrupter. The-correctrelation of the parts is shown in Fig. 2, when the armature. andcommutator revolve in the direction shown by the arrow. The current mustbe broken by the interrupter before such time as itwould otherwise bebroken by the insulation 68 or 69, as otherwise, a second break wouldbe'made.

where it would not be convenient nor profit- My device is especiallyuseful on old cars able to 'atta'ch self starters, as my device can i beattached by altering the old parts slightly.

It is necessary only to bore out the passage through body 38 to receivethimble 72 and through contact block 46 to keep clear and insulate screw71, to bore a hole in 46 for pin 73 and to lengthen post 55 to allow fortheFt hickness of cap 60.

he movable parts of my commutator can then be attached,'cap' 60 put inplaceand the brushes wired to a switch and battery placed in anyconvenient locations.

By passing the battery currentthrough the primary winding of thearmature, even with the armatureibeing turned very slowly, I can securea sufficient spark, and the faster the magneto is turned over, the moreeifective is the spark produced.

I have shown my device attached to a twocylinder engine, but it can asreadily be attached to an en 'ne with more cylinders by the use of any 0the well known forms of distributing devices. My device does notinterfere with the movements of the interrupter when accelerating orretarding the spark and my switch by which the battery current throughthe commutator is closed and by which the bridge connection is made forclosing the circuit through the commutator when the battery circuit iscut out is positive in action and manually operable by the operator. Theswitch is naturally placed in a convenient position for the operator toreach.

I claim:

1. The combination with an electrical generator having a revolublearmature with a primary winding and a secondary winding which iselectrically connected with the spark producing means, and an externalinterrupter which revolves therewith and has an insulated centralcontact member electrically connected with one pole of the primarywinding of thevarmature and a contact block which is insulated therefromand is in operative relation with an interrupt-er lever, saidinterrupter lever being electrically connected with the other pole ofthe primary winding of the armature, of a commutator attacl'led to andinsulated from the interrupter and revoluble therewith, such commutatorhaving oppositely disposed curved plates insulated from each other, oneof such plates being electrically connected with the contact block, andthe other being electrically connected with the central contact member,and oppositely disposed brushes in operative relation with said plates,a battery, a direct electrical connec tion between one brush and onepole of the battery, an electrical connection between the other brushand the other pole of battery, a bridge connection between the firstnamed brush and the last named electrical connection, and a switch inthe last named electrical connection adapted to close the circuitbetween the brushes, to open it and close the circuit through thebattery or to open both circuits.

2. The combination of an electrical generator having a revolublearmature with a primary winding and secondary winding which iselectrically connected with the spark producing means,-an interrupteroutside of the generator which is revoluble with the armature and has aninsulated contact block in operative relation with an interrupter leverwhich is electrically connected with one pole winding of the armature,

of the primary winding of the armature, a battery, electricalconnections between the battery and a commutator, and said commutatorwhich is revoluble with the interrupter and is interposed in theelectrical connections 'between the other pole of the armature and thecontact block and is adapted to transform the direct battery currentinto an alternating current through the primary with a bridge connectionand a switch whereby the battery current through the commutator can beclosed or opened, and the current between the commutator poles can beclosed or opened.

3. The combination of an electricalgen erator having an armature with aprimary winding and a secondary windingwhich is electrically connectedwith the spark producing means, an interrupter, a battery, a commutator,and electrical connections whereby the battery current passes throughthe commutator by which it is transformed into an alternating currentthrough the interrupter and through the primary winding of the armature,with a manually operable switch and a bridge connection whereby thebattery may be cut out and the primary circuit closed through thecommutator.

4. The combination of an electrical generator having a revolublearmature with a primary winding and a secondary winding which iselectrically connected with spark producing means, an interrupter, abattery, a commutator revoluble with the armature, and electricalconnections whereby the battery current passes through the commutator bywhich it is transformed into an alternating current synchronous with thecurrent produced in the generator when the armature is revolved, whichcurrent passes through the interrupter and through the primary windingof the armature, with a manually operable switch and a bridge connectionwhereby the battery may be cut out and the primary circuit closedthrough the commutator.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature. I

MELVIN M. oasrnn.

